


Hung Within a Frame

by LadyKnightOfHollyrose



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Love Square - Freeform, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Male-Female Friendship, References to Origins, Secret Identity, Slow Burn, Tags to be added as I go along, Universe Alteration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-04
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:47:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7679671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyKnightOfHollyrose/pseuds/LadyKnightOfHollyrose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Gabriel Agreste pulls his son out of school after Stoneheart, thinking that allowing him to go would only be rewarding bad behaviour, Adrien misses his chance to clear the air with Marinette. So when an akuma sets his sights on the girl and it’s up to Chat Noir to protect her, it’s the perfect opportunity to set things right. Albeit as his alter ego.</p><p>(And maybe it’ll be enough to tip the scales; after all, in another life Marinette once admitted that if it weren’t for Adrien, she probably would have fallen for her feline partner…</p><p>…and, well, there’s no stuttering and blushing to stop Adrien from getting to know Marinette this time around.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hung Within a Frame

When Chat’s baton buzzes with an incoming call, he can’t help the way his lip twitches up in the reflex to spread into a grin of relief.

He pushes aside the folder Chloé had shoved at him and springs up, thumb jabbing the green paw print that allows the weapon to work as a communicator as he nudges open the door to the balcony and sidles out of sight as quietly as he can.

He’s starting to understand the reaction his affiliation to Chloé had garnered him on his first (and last) day of school. Not that this means he’s going to completely let Ladybug off the hook for her disappearing act earlier.

He likes to think he knows Ladybug pretty well by now – instinct can only take you so far where crime fighting with a partner is concerned, and while neither of them can spare the time for the nightly patrol that Adrien had first suggested after meeting (a _staple_ he’d found from the knowledge he’d gleaned from comic books and the superhero genre in general) they do meet often enough to know more than just the bare basics about each other.

Anyway, the point being that Chat’s seen Ladybug with civilians before – she’s kind to the general public, compassionate with akuma victims and perhaps a little exasperated but firm with gawking bystanders who lack a sense of self-preservation.

Chat’s never seen her act the way she does when presented with Chloé Bourgeois before though.

Ladybug’s always been a consummate professional; she’s never changed her attitude to _others_ who have been the cause of an akuma’s ire, so it seems a little strange to him that she’d still single Chloé out. Maybe it should be a given, however, considering just _how many_ of Papillon’s victims are made vulnerable to possession because of Chloé’s actions.

Chat thinks back to the first time they met, tangled up in the wire from her yo yo as they’d swung from side to side from his baton, Stoneheart wreaking havoc somewhere in the distance. He thinks of the uncertainty that had swum in her ocean blue eyes and remembers that for all of her merits, Ladybug’s still undeniably _human_.

It’s this thought that softens his words, amusement leaking into his voice when he finally answers the incoming call.

“Okay, you can’t disappear like that and just call me like nothing happened, Ladybug.”

“I’m sorry Chat,” she replies, and she does sound genuinely apologetic for her behaviour. He can almost imagine the sheepish set of her mouth as she continues, “that wasn’t very nice of me.”

Whatever Ladybug’s hang up with Chloé is, it seems she’s willing to rise above it for now.

Or at least attempt to.

Chat’s attention snaps back into focus with a frown at her next words.

“But anyway, you can leave Chloé now. I need you to protect this girl, instead.”

His brows crawl up his forehead beneath his mask – it hasn’t been that long since Ladybug had left, after all, and what could possibly have changed in that length of time?

Still, he pulls his baton away from his cheek obligingly, eyes flickering down to study the screen to see what Ladybug’s sent through to him.

His jaw drops.

“Cute, isn’t she?” Ladybug goes on, oblivious to the way Chat’s eyes have just about popped out of his skull in surprise. Because he _recognises_ her; how could he not after he’d left such a terrible impression on her (albeit unintentionally, and as his alter ego). “Dessinateur is in love with her; he’s promised to leave Chloé alone if Marinette celebrates his birthday with him.”

He wants to question the sanity of accepting such terms in the first place, when from what they’ve seen so far Dessinateur has powers that could be dangerous from a distance, let alone at close range and to a _civilian_ …

But then Chloé’s marching back out onto the balcony again, flicking his bell to catch his attention and brandishing her physics project as though to say it won’t be doing itself. Chat turns his grimace into a wide smile and nods as he propels her back inside by her shoulders.

Ladybug’s moved onto the plan by then, anyway.

“You can take advantage of this diversion and use it to neutralise him.”

It’s risky considering Marinette will be running point, he supposes, but probably no more so than any other plan they’ve attempted before. Besides, that’s what Chat will be there for. The plan doesn’t seem to account for Ladybug herself, though.

“Okay, but what about you?”

“I’ve…er, got a very important secret mission I have to take care of. I’ll join you later.” She continues before he can get a word in edgeways, “you’ll be able to handle things without me?”

…Chat knows _exactly_ what she’s doing. But it doesn’t stop his almost reflexive response of, “please, who do you take me for?” from slipping out. And well, if he’s going to live by his word, he should probably be on his way.

He hangs up, pokes his head back indoors to let Chloé know she’s in the clear before bounding away, Chloé’s squawks of protest fading in the distance as he races across Paris’ skyline towards a certain bakery on Gottlieb Street.

Towards Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Chat has to check the urge to pull up her photo again; to take in her beaming expression and casual pose, so different to the way he’d last seen her as her face had dropped at the sight of him prodding at the wad of gum stuck to her bench. He’d been preoccupied with trying to remove the offending gum at the time, but from the corner of his eye he’d seen the spark in her eye go out, a wall slamming down around her as her guard went up and her lips flattened into a line.

He hadn’t understood at the time, how she could completely shut him out before even allowing him the chance to explain… But Nino has since caught Adrien up on the years of harassment he’s witnessed Marinette endure at the hands of Chloé (and to a lesser extent Sabrina), and well, he’s heard of the saying ‘once bitten, twice shy’.

He’d been intending to clear up the whole misunderstanding once he was back at school – Nino had assured him that once she’d calmed down Marinette would likely feel embarrassed for not hearing him out and was unlikely to hold a grudge once she knew the truth – but his own father had thoroughly thwarted that plan by pulling him out despite Adrien’s (and apparently Nathalie’s) best efforts.

He’s run into Marinette a handful of times since then as Adrien, though they’ve only _really_ seen each other in passing. Mostly it’s due to Nino inviting Adrien along to various events and outings that involve their class, and he _thinks_ he remembers seeing her briefly at his slightly disastrous birthday party earlier in the year. None of them had left him with an opportunity for any kind of meaningful interaction though. And while it’s true that Marinette doesn’t seem to carry any animosity for him despite their rather rocky introduction (and he’s well aware he probably has Nino to thank for that, too) he can’t really fault her for having a cooler temperament where he’s concerned.

But perhaps his Lady’s luck is starting to rub off on him; it’s not every day one has the chance to make a second attempt at a first impression. Even if it is as a supposedly different person.

Maybe Chat Noir can succeed where Adrien failed.

Considering what he’s learned from Nino, he’s a little surprised to find Sabrina at Marinette’s door when he arrives… The way she departs, however, is a little _less_ surprising.

Still, it gives him the perfect opportunity to swoop in, debonair as you please as he delivers his _hiss_ terical pun and surely sweeps her off her feet as he plants a soft kiss on the back of her hand in greeting.

 _Nailed it_.

**Author's Note:**

> Aah I've been planning this for ages so I'm glad to finally have something to show for it! I've not been able to write so much this year though so please excuse it if it's a little rusty ^^'
> 
> Also I'm mostly working off of this timeline, which is the most coherent chronology I've come across so far: http://thewalkingweapon.tumblr.com/post/142455926124/miraculous-ladybug-timeline-complete
> 
> (Trying to figure out Adrien in all of this when he's been pulled out of school is going to be interesting...)
> 
> The title of the fic is from the song Heart Go Bang by Blue October (which is like an ultimate post-reveal Adrinette song for me)


End file.
